Best Picture judging: The winner of Best Picture was determined solely by a private audience vote. Each film turned in on time was eligible for Best Picture. Audience members selected their top three films, and each film was awarded Aperture Points based on votes: 3 for first, 2 for second, and 1 for third. Their totals are listed here.

For this year's 54 Film Fest Knoxville winners, M.A.K.A. Productions, the biggest challenge of their weekend-long experience was not finding the right music or turning their movie in on time; it was perseverance.

But even though we disagree with some of the Academy's choices, we have a lot more respect for them two years into 54 Film Fest Knoxville. Many people have asked us how we judge our film festival, and in this post, we will cover how we determine the winner of the Curveball Challenge, Best Cinematography, and Best Film.